Dale, Patterson lead Everett Sox past Jacksonville and a win away from State title

CABOT — Harrison Dale pitched shutout ball for six innings while Blake Patterson went 3 for 3 and[more] scored three runs as the Everett Black Sox advanced to the championship round of the Junior American Legion State Tournament with a 5-1 win over Jacksonville Gwatney Chevrolet on Sunday. The two teams were the last unbeatens as they battled in the winners bracket final.

Jacksonville loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. Bailey Bowers relieved for the Sox and, after a run scored on an error, he served up a two-ball as the Sox ended the game with a 4-6-3 doubleplay. It was Bryant’s fourth doubleplay of the game.

Dale had Gwatney shut out on three hits over six innings. He walked two, hit a batter and struck out four. James Tucker led off the seventh with a single and after Dale recorded his fifth strikeout, Derek St. Clair walked and Ryan Mallison was hit by a pitch to fill the sacks and bring on the pitching change.

The first Sox doubleplay was a 1-2-3 job in the first inning when a pair of singles and a walk had the bases loaded with one out. In the top of the second, Patterson drilled a double to right-center and, when the ball was bobbled and the throw back to the infield missed its mark, he was able to score.

Dale hit James Tucker with two down in the second but got a tap back to the mound for the final out. Neither team scored in the third. Bryant turned its second doubleplay to erase a one-out walk.

The Sox added two runs to their lead in the fourth. With one out, Patterson bounced a single to right. With two away, Hunter Oglesby singled. Both runners moved up on a passed ball, getting into scoring position for Connor Tatum who came through with a single to left to chase them home.

Trey Breeding made a bid for extra bases but was robbed by Jacksonville centerfielder Courtland McDonald.

Another doubleplay helped keep Gwatney off the board in the bottom of the fourth. In the fifth, Dale worked around a one-out error and a two out walk by striking out Jacksonville’s number three hitter, Blake Perry.

Patterson singled with one out in the sixth and stole second. With two down, Oglesby brought him around with a lined single to center, making it 4-0.

The Sox added a final run in the top of the seventh after Dale had pitched around a two-out error in the home sixth. For Bryant, Brandan Warner reached on a one-out error. He raced home with the fifth run when Drew Tipton hit a gapper for an RBI triple.

Bryant awaits the survivor of the losers bracket final on Tuesday. Immediately following that game, the winner will play Bryant around 7:30 p.m. The Sox are now 31-1.